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Sunday, August 1, 2010

Moules Mariniere - Blue Mussels - Blue Monday

Blue MusselsThis photo courtesy of Andreas Trepte

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...This lovely dish is another that comes from the French peasant kitchen and it is one for which I have a special fondness. Julia Child introduced Bob and I to moules mariniere the year our eldest daughter was born. At that time mussels had no cache and could only be found in ethnic markets where they sold for pennies on the dollar. The first time I made this dish I bought three pounds of mussels for a dollar. That same quantity cost fifteen dollars this afternoon. Once the mussels have been cleaned and purged of sand, the dish can be on the table in ten minutes. Fortunately, most of the mussels available in the supermarket today are farmed and not harvested in the wild. That makes the task of cleaning them much easier. Farmed mussels need to be scrubbed before being debearded and set to soak. The "beard" is the fibrous hairy thing hanging from one side of the shell. Pull it off with a side-to-side motion. Most experts recommend soaking mussels for about an hour to assure they will disgorge their sand. Should you have wild mussels, add 1/4 cup of flour to a container of salted water and allow the mussels to soak for two to three hours before cooking. The thought here is that the mussels will eat the flour and purge themselves of debris, as well as plump up. Discard any mussels that refuse to close when pressed. Nowadays, it's also important to know where your mussels have come from. Be sure to ask. I use a really good dry French vermouth to make this dish. There are three that I can recommend to you. My preference is Dolin, but Lille and Noilly Prat also work well. This makes for a lovely light supper. I served ours with a romaine and watercress salad and a crusty baguette to help mop up the sauce. Our meal ended with a warm lemon pudding. I do hope you'll give this recipe a try. You won't regret it. Here's how I make moules mariniere. Bon appetit.

Directions:1) Melt butter in a 6 to 8-quart stockpot set over medium heat. Add shallots and garlic and saute until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add vermouth or wine and stir in bay leaf, thyme and pepper. Bring to a boil and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes.2) Add mussels to pan. Cover and boil over high heat for 5 minutes, shaking pan occasionally to redistribute mussels and assure even cooking.3) Transfer mussels to a large serving bowl or to shallow soup bowls. Ladle cooking liquid over mussels, sprinkle with parsley and serve hot. Yield: 4 servings.

I am encouraged by your recipe and prose. In my years of teaching cooking classes, especially seafood classes--and years of trying many foods and styles, I have always been somewhat intimidated by moules and have never done them. Just yesterday, Andrew came home from Costco and announced that he had planned (??) to pick up mussels but there were too many in the package for us. Instead of just enjoying at a restaurant, I think they may appear on our table soon.

Never having prepared mussels before, I had no idea you did anything to them other than bung them in a pot -oops! I did know about the flour trick with snails though as my husband collected all of our garden snails once to trial how they tasted (not worth bothering with again was his verdict)!

I love mussels but have never actually prepared them myself. They're a bit intimidating to me so I enjoy them in restaurants. One day when I'm feeling adventurous I'll have to try your recipe- it looks lovely! Thanks for sharing.

I love mussels and so does my husband. We prepare them every chance we get which isn't very often since we moved to Arizona :o( But the few times we can find them it is a feast, all we need is crusty bread and good glass of wine. Your recipe sounds wonderful and I will be bookmarking for my next mussel "find"!

This is one of The Great Dane's favorites. I fix it once a year and he eats a pot-full.I remember the first time I ever had Moules - it was, of course, in Brussels (who doesn't eat Mussels in Brussels?) at Chez Leon in 1981. More than twenty years later we took our daughter for a meal there, and nothing had changed at all - and we had another moules lover in the family!

My husband and I adore mussels. I was scared to try them for years, but after finally being convinced, I couldn't stop eating them. This classic recipe looks wonderful and I'm already planning a loaf of crusty bread to serve on the side.

Your picture makes these look like artwork, too pretty to eat! I don't eat shellfish, but the warm lemon pudding sounds very good, and what a pefecct accompaniment to this dish! Did you make the pudding?

We absolutely love moules and frites!! I am anxious to try your recipe (and Julia's, of course). My childhood friend who lived in Belgium for many years says that Belgium serves the best moules in the world. Where moules are being served is the best place in the world to me!!!

I wish I could come eat some with ya! We grew up in Ct and spent summers at the beach . We would eat a lot of them---they were along our jetties. I get them once in a while when eating out...although now they do seem rather rich too me! I do enjoy them!

This is the sort of dish I absolutely love in restaurants, but I've never attempted to make it at home. And, it's really not difficult at all. You've inspired me to take the plunge. Mary! Beautiful photo!

I've never tried mussels. Not sure that I will....but if ever there was a post that made me even think about it, it would be this one. So many comments back up your endorsement of this interesting dish.

One of my favorite things, and also one of the first dishes of my young womanhood that I felt sophisticated cooking. I first became acquainted with mussels while living in Greenwich Village in the '70s and shopping at the Italian fishmongers on Bleecker Street.

A far cry it was, from my Cincinnati upbringing!

They are easy to find in the Pacific Northwest; less easy to find in Southern California. We can find the New Zealand green-lipped ones, but I prefer the blue ones.

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